Former Manchester United midfielder and current assistant manager of the Ireland football team Roy Keane has insisted that it would take two more years for the 13-time Premier League champions to become England's top dogs again.
Having spent the last week lashing out at former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, Keane did not show any signs of easing off on his one-time mentor and insisted that he would confront Ferguson the next time they next bump into each another.
But while the Irishman says he can never see a point where he and Ferguson can resolve their differences, he added that he can see light at the end of the tunnel for United fans, The Daily star reported.
However, Keane believes that there would be two more years of pain before United stands a chance of being able to challenge their Premier League rivals for the title.
Keane said that things have been a bit better the last few weeks for United, adding that they have got lots of goals in their team now and are great going forward.
But, he said that in terms of winning the big prizes like the Premier League and the Champions League, he thinks that might be a few years down the road yet. Keane said that United need to rebuild their defence.
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The former United midfielder said that one can win football matches going forward but at the back, with the injuries and lack of experience they have, it would be very hard to win titles.
But it would not be as difficult as it would be for Ferguson to win back Keane's respect, though. The Irishman said that if he meets Ferguson now, he would probably have a go at him and ask the former boss that why is he talking nonsense about him and the lads who won stuff for him.
Keane said that in fairness, Ferguson would probably ask him to go take a running jump. But he added that he just does not see why they should sit back and accept what Ferguson has to say time and after.
Keane said that he is 43 years of age and is he supposed to be frightened of Ferguson, adding that it doesn't keep him awake at night worrying about the former boss and he does not mind people being critical of him. But, he said that when it is lies that is a big difference.